Injuries during a marathon are common, but deaths are very rare. And when a marathon runner, someone thought to be in tip-top physical shape, dies, it makes everyone stop and think. If you're training hard and pushing to be in shape for the marathon, how can you tell something is wrong? Did these runners have pain or other warning signs, and choose to ignore them, or was the cause of death completely unpredictable?
Three men died in the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon, held Sunday. According to the Free Press, Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, and Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, both died during the half-marathon, and Jon Fenlon, 26, of Waterford died shortly after crossing the finish line in the half-marathon.
It wasn't a temperature issue, experts say. According to the Associated Press, race temperatures started out around 28 degrees and rose to about 41 degrees by 10 a.m. The Free Press reports that initial autopsies did not determine a clear cause of death, and more tests are being ordered.
We often use the level of physical activity as a tenet to judge whether someone is living in a healthy way. A person who jogs four days a week is considered healthier than someone who is sedentary. If the body can handle the physical strain that comes with exercise, it should be able to withstand other stresses as well, including health issues. Research has shown that regular physical activity decreases the risk for developing heart disease or other cardiovascular problems, diabetes and obesity. So when a marathon runner, on the high end of the activity spectrum, suffers a major health problem mid-race, it raises a lot of concern.
Running puts a lot of stress on the heart and circulatory system, as well as the lungs, as muscles and the brain demand oxygen to keep moving at a higher pace. I am not a medical expert, but perhaps the men had health issues in either of these areas. The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, an advocacy group committed to raising awareness about this medical condition, released a statement in response to these three deaths. Reuters reports the association said these deaths showcase the need to raise public awareness about sudden cardiac arrest, and how critical immediate response is to increasing the chances that someone will survive.
To be clear, official news reports have not stated the three men died from sudden cardiac arrest. More results, including toxicology tests, from the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office could take up to several weeks to be released, according to the Free Press, but we should soon see more answers about these unexpected deaths.